In the Crease Podcast with Justin Quenneville

It's time for another In The Crease Podcast with Corpus Christi Icerays Beat Writer Greg Rajan as he talks to Corpus Christi Icerays Head Coach Justin Quenneville as he discusses the current playoff race, Anthony Stolarz's great season he's having which included making both the NAHL U18 Selects Team for the upcoming Prospects Tournament; and him making the NHL Draft Rankings.Also what he was going through he was offered a coaching job when the IceRays made the transition from Minor League's to Juniors.

Quenneville also reflects on his favorite moments during his Pro Career with the Ice Rays and why he thanks that Junior Hockey in the NAHL has worked so well in their first 2 seasons. A big part of the appeal Quenneville thanks that has made a big impact including the entrainment factor. "The Energy, they hit so much harder and so much faster," said Quenneville. "Were going to explain first what this level is and explaining what this represents'." Showing current fans and trying to attract new fans as well as they look to show that they are capable of playing in the NCAA & Pro Ranks later in their career.

A good example of this is Anthony Stolarz who not only has made a NCAA Commitment to the University of Nebraska-Omaha in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) but was also ranked 21st among NHL Goalies when the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Season Rankings came out back in January.

Also joining Greg Rajan was Brian Sandalow of The Monitor in Mcallen who covers the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees in the Central Hockey League discusses' one of the most wild and wacky Games of the Central Hockey League season between the Killer Bees & Tulsa Oilers back on Sunday Afternoon that the Oilers won 9-6 back on Sunday Afternoon.

It included the Killer Bees having to comeback from a 5-1 deficit to a 5-5 tie only to lose 9-6 in what was a very important game in the CHL Berry Conference Playoff Race for the 4th & Final Playoff Spot with about a month-and-a-half left in the regular season. A huge offensive explosion for the Oilers helped them in their victory where 8 players had multiple point games.

He also gives his take on the Berry Conference Playoff Race where the Wichita Thunder are currently 4 points up on the Allen Americans for the Conference Lead and pulled off a critical victory against the Americans back on February 9th, 4-2.

2/13 In the Crease Podcast

Tyler Hope scores twice in 3-2 upset of the South Division Leading Bulls

Wichita Falls was able to hand the Bulls only their 5th regulation loss of the season with a surprise 3-2 win over the Bulls at the Kay Yeager Coliseum back on Tuesday Night. Tyler Hope (McKinney, Texas) was able to score twice in the game as well as Patrick Yudez being able to assist on all three of the Wildcats goals as they were able to climb within a point of 5th Place Odessa and look to continue to be in close distance of the Corpus Christi IceRays as they sit just 7 points back.

However, Corpus Christi has the advantage as the IceRays have 3 games in hand (17 GMS left for Corpus Christi, 14 GMS left for Wichita Falls, 17 GMS left for Odessa) for the battle for teh 4th & Final Playoff Spot in the NAHL's South Division heating up.

A critical weekend series is on the horizon as the IceRays will host the Wichita Falls Wildcats for a weekend series at the American Bank Center this weekend where the IceRays can continue their lead for the final Playoff spot. While a Wichita Falls Domination could be as close as 3 points with a month and a half left in the regular season.

Amarillo on the other hand will travel to Frisco to play the Texas Tornado on Friday & Saturday this upcoming weekend (Both games are at 7:30 PM).

Upcoming Wichita Falls Wildcats Schedule

2/10: @ Corpus Christi Icerays  7:05 PM

2/11: @ Corpus Christi Icerays  7:35 PM

2/24: VS. New Mexico Mustangs  7:05 PM

2/25: VS. New Mexico Mustangs  7:05 PM

2/27: VS. New Mexico Mustangs  7:05 PM

Upcoming Corpus Christi Icerays Schedule

2/10: @ Texas Tornado  7:30 PM

2/11: @ Texas Tornado  7:30 PM

2/24: VS. Texas Tornado  7:00 PM

2/25: VS. Texas Tornado  7:00 PM

3/1: @ Corpus Christi Icerays  7:05 PM

Amarillo Bulls 2  Wichita Falls Wildcats 3  (0-1, 1-1, 1-1)

Game Report by Zach Duncan of the Wichita Falls Times Record News

In Wichita Falls, Texas: By recently trading away a couple of veterans for 2012-13 tenders, first year coach Paul Baxter's plan is to build the Wildcats into a Division contender for next year.

But nights like Tuesday are a reminder that the Wildcats haven't given up on this season, and they can play with anybody at the Kay Yeager Coliseum.

Tyler Hope scored twice and linemate George Pagonis added another goal in a 3-2 victory over league leading Amarillo, which has now lost five times in regulation.

With the win, the Wildcats (16-24-4) moved to within seven points of idle Corpus Christi for the NAHL South's Final Playoff spot. All victories are worth the same two points, but beating the Bulls (34-5-7) definitely provided a boost.

"I just feel like we're a team that we really need all 20 guys going to be successful, and we've been doing that lately," said Patrick Yudez, who finished with three assists. "Hopefully we can keep that up the rest of the season and make a run at the playoffs."

The hard working Hope-Yudez-Pagonis line has accounted for six of the Wildcats 10 goals' over the past three games.

Pagonis was picked up over the Christmas Break and has meshed with Yudez, a fellow Colorado Native.

"We played together growing up, and when he got picked up, I was pretty stoked about playing together with him again," Yudez said. "We just kind of grind away at the opposition, and it seems to work."

The Bulls were without NAHL Leading scorer Brooks Behling, who was serving a one game suspension for a hit last week. But Amarillo still has six other forwards who have scored more then any Wildcat this season and wasn't an easy out.

Amarillo entered with a 24-0-3 record when scoring first, but the Bulls weren't able to add to that impressive streak Tuesday.

In an evenly matched opening period, it was Hope who slammed home a rebound after Matt Purmal's high slap shot seemed to surprise Amarillo Goalie Mike Taffe.

After surviving Amarillo's surge early in the second period, the Wildcats increased their lead to 2-0 at the 12:42 mark when Hope scored his 10th goal after a scramble in front of the Bulls net.

"We played with some urgency and we won some loose puck battles," Baxter said. "I thought that we had a high compete level, and that's what you need at this time of year. That's what you need to compete. "The Bulls converted on the power play with 5:49 left in the second when Mike Erickson scored from the side of the goal."

Nothing came easy for the Wildcats, but Pagonis' third goal in as many games gave the team a 3-1 advantage with 14:07 to play.

Matt Leon was solid in net throughout, stoning Greg Gibson twice in the second period from close range as part of his 28 saves.

Amarillo's Omar Mullen did beat the Wichita Falls held its ground in the waning minutes to secure its second win in seven games against the Bulls.

The Wildcats now head to Corpus Christi with momentum for their last two games this season against the IceRays.

"Those are two big games," Yudez said. "If we can sweep Corpus Christi this weekend, we'll be right back in the race."

Notes: The Wildcats played without forward Tyler Bruneteau who suffered a concussion last Friday. But forward Jacob Batcha returned for the first time since when he suffered a concussion on December 16 after 29 games without a penalty, Yudez has now received a two minute minor in the past three Wichita Falls was 0/6 against the league's top penalty kill and only managed one shot. The Wildcats are 0-for-28 over the last eight games with the man advantage.

Topeka & Texas both win blowouts

It didn't take long for both the Texas Tornado & Topeka Roadrunners as both teams were able to get off to quick starts and were able to run away in both their games last night. Also included in the Big Victories was hat tricks by Jack Prince (Texas Tornado) & Ryan White (Topeka Roadrunners) in the big wins last night.

As for the rest of the weekend, the IceRays are done for the week and won't hit the ice again till February 10th when they start a stretch with 6 of their next 7 games at home starting with a weekend series against the Wichita Falls Wildcats. While the Texas Tornado continue a 3 game series against the Wichita Falls Wildcats where they will play at the Dr. Pepper Arena again tonight, then will head to Wichita Falls to play the Wildcats on Saturday Night.

Here's the Weekend schedule for the Southwest Region NAHL Teams.

2/3

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Amarillo Bulls  7:00 PM

Fresno Monsters VS. Odessa Jackalopes  7:05 PM

Wichita Falls Wildcats VS. Texas Tornado  7:30 PM

2/4

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Amarillo Bulls  7:00 PM

Fresno Monsters VS. Odessa Jackalopes  7:05 PM

Texas Tornado VS. Wichita Falls Wildcats  7:05 PM



Here's the NAHL Press Release for all of last night's Game

Wichita Falls Wildcats 0  Texas Tornado 6  (0-4, 0-2, 0-0)

In Frisco, Texas: The Texas Tornado scored three power play goals - all of which came in the first period - as they coasted to a 6-0 victory over the Wichita Falls Wildcats on Thursday Night. Jack Prince added a goal and three assists. Hunter Leisner earned his first shutout as a member of the Tornado, stopped all 16 shots that came his way. The first marker of the period came on a snap shot from the left-wing circle by Marc Biggs. Two and half a minutes later, Prince took a shot that was stopped. Drew Allen was right on the doorstep to slam it home, though, to score his second goal in as many games and give Texas a 2-0 lead, Prince took a shot that was stopped. The first of Prince's three goals also came on the power-play, coming at 8:34 of the opening period. Then in the final minutes of the first, Prince scored again, but this time it was shorthanded.

Texas picked up right where it left off in the second period, continuing to dominate play in all three zones. Jordan Greenberg gave the Tornado a 5-0 lead as he skated into the zone on the left wing, waited as long as he could for Allen to join the rush, and snapped a wrist shot over the glove of Matt Leon, who started the second period in goal for Wichita Falls. In the later stages of the second period, Prince struck again, giving him his 29th goal and fourth hat trick of the season. Prince recorded a power play, shorthanded and even strength goal in the win.

Corpus Christi Icerays 2  Topeka Roadrunners 8  (1-3, 0-1, 1-4)

Games Notes from Greg Rajan

In Topeka, Kansas: Ryan White recorded his first hat trick and 13th multi-point game of the season as Topeka cruised to an 8-2 victory at home to sweep. Corpus Christi and remain in 2nd Place in the South Division. White and the Roadrunners scored early and often taking a 4-1 lead after two periods with two goals from White and others from Brian Christi and Cory Ramsey. Four more goals in the 3rd period sealed the IceRays fate, who got goals from Beau Walker and Eric Purcell. Anders Schultz, Andrew O'Leary and Sean Gaffney also scored for Topeka.

Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings 2  Jamestown Ironmen 3  (1-3, 1-0, 0-0)

In Jamestown, N.Y.: Joe Gladnick made 32 saves and Bryan Whitt's power play goal late in the 1st period proved to be the game winner as Jamestown helped their playoff chances with a 3-2 home win over the visiting K-Wings. Blake Kelly got the scoring going just 1:29 into the game for the Ironmen, but that was quickly answered by a goal from Kalamazoo's Jacob McDowell. After two more Ironmen Goals from Steve Frangione and Watt, the Ironmen led 3-1 after the 1st period. Alex Brooks scored in the 2nd period for the K-Wings, but that is as close as they would get as Gladnick the door the rest of the way.

Kenai River Brown Bears 5  Dawson Creek Rage 2  (0-0, 3-2, 2-0)

In Dawson Creek, B.C.: The Rage jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but the Brown Bears stormed back to score five unanswered goals in a 5-2 win on the road in Dawson Creek. The win moved Kenai River into the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division. After opening goals from Scott Fellnermayr and Shawn Mueller, the Rage were looking good. However, Kenai River came back with three goals from Brett Lubanski, Vincent Stefan and Bobby Murphy in the period to take a 3-2 lead into the locker room. Two more goals from Chris Nuth in the 3rd period put the game away for the Brown Bears.

Corpus Christi fires back at Wichita Falls

After getting sweeped last weekend against the Wichita Falls Wildcats in a pair of losses (4-2 last on Friday & 2-1 (OT) on Saturday) to continue to show the rest of the South Division that they are the favorites to finish 4th and get into the Playoffs for the 1st time in the NAHL Era as the Ice Rays are now 8 points up on the Jackalopes right now. Both teams will be playing again tonight at 7:05 PM at the American Bank Center.

Else where in the South Division Coming up tonight, the Amarillo Bulls visit Odessa while the Texas Tornado play their only game of the weekend as they entertain the Fresno Monsters while Topeka welcomes the New Mexico Mustangs this weekend.

Wichita Falls Wildcats 2  Corpus Christi Icerays 5  (1-1, 0-4, 1-0)

By Greg Rajan of the Corpus Christi Caller

Game Photos from Michael Zamora

Even More thoughts from Greg Rajan



From Corpus Christi, Texas: Ice Rays Head Coach Justin Quenneville said his team really didn't play any differently against the Wichita Falls Wildcats on Thrusday then on eight previous occasion's.

There was one notable difference, though: the goal light behind Matt Leon's net finally got some use.

Corpus Christi ended Leon's run of dominance in a big way, rolling to a 5-2 victory over Wichita Falls at the American Bank Center.

The IceRays (19-17-3, 41 Points) moved eight points up on Odessa (14-19-5, 33 Points) and 10 on Wichita Falls (14-23-3, 31 PTS) for the final playoff spot in the North American Hockey League South Division. Corpus Christi also matched it's win total from last year, it's first in the NAHL.

"We had more pose tonight," Quenneville said. "I haven't even watched the game film, but I can tell you that we didn't play any different then we did the nights before. We kept things simple, made the plays and were effective at both ends of the ice," he added. "The goals just went in tonight. The guys buried (chances) and I'm proud of them. We had a ton of chances. I'm glad they started going in for them."

The story entering the game was Leon. the Wichita Falls Goalie who was 6-0 against Corpus Christi and had allowed just seven total goals. But by the end of the second period, the IceRays had pumped five pucks past him to turn a close game into a rout.

"Honestly, I can't tell you exactly (what we did differently)," said Forward Joe Smereck who had a goal and played a strong two way game. "Hockey is a funny sport, and sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn't. But I guarantee tonight we worked a lot harder then we have any other night."

"Tonight we just found our niche. Sometimes, you just can't find it," he added.

The Icerays trailed 1-0 late in the first period before a strong individual effort by Perry D'Arrisso gave them a spark.

The forward beat the Wichita Falls Wildcats Defensemen Tucker Poolman to a loose puck, skated in Leon and faked the goalie to the ice before slipping in the equalizer at 15:22.

"That's a goal scorers goal right there," Quenneville said. "He recognized had a bead on the defensemen. We had been preaching a long time to the guys to make that move to the outside, gain speed and then the power to move to the net.

"Yeah, you take a licking, but you'll get a great (chance) out of it," he added. "That was a great play by him and a big (confidence) builder for us."

The IceRays then got to Leon for four goals in 14 minutes during the second, giving goalie Anthony Stolarz - who made 41 saves - plenty of offensive support.

First, Beau Walker's left circle shot went off Leon's right shoulder under the crossbar at 4:14, then at 9:22, A.J. Jarosz snapped a wirst shot from the high slot off the left post and in on the power play.

At 14:33, Smereck tailed after a strong rush down left wing and around the defense. Erik Purcell then capped the second period scoring from the low slot at 18:04 and Captain Frank Misuraca pinched in from the right point and found Purcell alone in front.

"On the Bench, were going wild," Jarosz said. "It just felt good to finally put five up against him."

"With Leon, he stays in the net, and you've got to be patient with him and wait for him to go down. I think we played pretty well tonight against him."

Lose Pucks

IceRays defensemen Ladislav Hruska left the game with 10:35 left in the first period with an ankle injury after a collision along the left wing boards with Wildcats Forward Renato Engler. Hruska was down on the ice for several minutes before being helped off and didn't return.



Texas Rubber Magazine Feature on the NAHL in Texas

Here's a recent magazine article that was featured in Texas Rubber Magazine by John Tranchina about the North American Hockey League's Growth in Texas with 5 teams and a growing number of youth players it's effected as well.

Here's the Texas Rubber Magazine Article by John Tranchina

With no less then 5 of it's 28 franchises based in the North American Hockey League (NAHL), the United States only Tier 2 Junior A League, is the nations largest state is a testament how far the sport has progressed.

That Texas host more NAHL Clubs then any other state marks a dramatic increase from a low of one (Wichita Falls Wildcats) just four seasons ago in 2008-2009, when the four time Robertson Cup Champion Texas Tornado suspended operations to allow for the renovation of the Dr. Pepper Star Center in Frisco. Since then, the Tornado returned, switched ownership and gained new rivals with expansion teams in Amarillo (Bulls), Corpus Christi (Icerays) & Odessa (Jackalopes).

Each of the three newest Texas squads resides in cities that previously housed in the Central Hockey League (CHL) clubs that were forced to ceased operations. Now, showcasing in the NAHL's exciting brand of junior hockey, they are all thriving, with each of the five Texas clubs among the league's top nine in attendance.

"In all of those cases, they were basically markets that became available and they are interested in the North American Hockey League model and it seems to be paying off for them." noted NAHL Commissioner Mark Frankenfeld, whose league headquarters are based in Frisco. "Our strategy, in general, is you want to have good partners and close divisional rivalries. That's our strategy in Michigan or whereever you're considering expanding, but in Texas, there was no strategy there, just the change of the times with the economy and ownership changes. It's really more of a natural progression of a model and a benefit to our league. Had we not existing partners in Texas & Wichita Falls, that probably would not have evolved."

Having built in rivalries with the other Texas Teams has been a major factor in each of the new teams successes, both as far as keeping travel costs down and in having familiar opponents for their fans to root against.

"Most definitely it's good for us because if it wasn't for those teams, we couldn't be in this league," acknowledged Patt Dunn, general manager of the second year Icerays. "Already, we have to go to New Mexico & Topeka and we have 14, 15 hour bus rides. That's far enough, I'd hate to see if our closest rivals, so definitely it's a plus. And there are other teams that were in the Central Hockey League at one point, so for the fans, that's there familiarity."

The transition from Professional Hockey to high-level juniors has progressed smoothly for each of the three newcomers, both at the ticket window and within the community. "We're in our second year, but we had been in pro hockey for 13 years and it was rough," remarked Dunn, we also spent several years working for the CHL incarnation of the IceRays. "We enjoyed it and really enjoyed the product, but it was just time to move on. We went to the NAHL and have been very happy and our fans have embraced it. We had to educate our fans on what the product was, but after they got to witness it themselves, they're really excited about it and enjoying the quality of play."

One other positive each of the three newcomer NAHL Cities have experienced is more of a commitment by the clubs to serve the community. With teenage players between the ages of 16 and 20, they are more eager participants to giving back to the communities, and that higher visibility in turn helps more kids to the local youth hockey programs.

"They're a big reason we're doing so well as we are this year." stated Amarillo Hockey Association, Inc. (AHAI) president Kenneth Creamer, whose organization maintains a strong connection with the NAHL's Bulls. "They are in the community and they're promoting youth hockey a lot more then we used to get with the pro team. These guys are not getting paid, it's not their job, so they doing everything they can to be involved in the community and to grow hockey in our area."

With the tremendous escalation of the game at the grassroots level in Texas over the last decade plus, more and more locally produced players are ending up on NAHL Rosters and that serves as further inspiration for the kids in those youth programs.

"Any time you read a program and you see half the team is from Plano or Flower Mound or Dallas, it just excites everybody and makes them think, 'Hey we could be that guy,'" Dunn said. "So the younger kids believe it and they're thinking they could be the next guy playing here, that you don't have to have ice in your backyard to become a hockey player. Kids down here in the South are really good athletes and are getting into hockey."

Austin Sutter, who serves as the Amarillo Youth Programs ice coordinator while doubling as business development manager for the Bulls, illuminates how profoundly the relationship can be mutually beneficial. "The bigger the youth hockey program grows, the more revenue we can bring in for the NAHL Team and vice versa," said Sutter, who played four plus seasons for the former Amarillo Gorillas in the CHL before retiring in 2010 to get into youth coaching. "The Bulls understand the value of that partnership and so does youth hockey. When the Bulls fans come to games, they can see that we offer quite a program for kids here for kids that want to play and try the game. We do work hand-in-hand."

"Everywhere, the youth programs grow when you have a junior team there," Frankenfeld said. "That situation is good for everybody, with more people playing hockey."

About Texas Rubber Magazine: Texas Rubber Magazine is a brand new digital magazine that debut last fall and it's a monthly magazine with different features on different Youth & Junior Teams around the State. Including Texas, Rubber Magazine also does similar magazine for the states of Arizona, California, Colorado & Florida.

Greg Rajan In the Crease Podcasts

A recent addition to Greg Rajan's hockey coverage of the Corpus Christi Icerays is his Podcast called In the Crease where he talks to current & Former Players Junior & Minor League Players. As well as coaches, GMS, Owners and Media that cover these levels of hockey.

A couple of his recent interviews included former Corpus Christi Iceray from the CHL Days and current Texas Brahmas Forward Chad Wollard about the league's new playoff format, who he thinks the Brahmas biggest rival is and and a bizarre episodes that he has witnessed over the course of his career including when a rival folded in Mid-Season and became the teams new head coach.

Also in his recent episode is Brian Sandalow of The Monitor in McAllen where he covers the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees who has been one of the league's biggest surprises this season after many felt the team was going to fold last summer. Currently the Killer Bees sit in 5th Place just a point back of the Tulsa Oilers for the 4th & Final Playoff Spot in the Berry Conference with just under 30 games left in the regular season.

1/24 Episode

He was also able to get a fans perceptive from Ice Rays Fan Robert Hutchinson who has been a huge fan and season ticket holder of the Corpus Christi Icerays since the early days of the team playing in the Central Hockey League. Rajan got his thoughts on main issues like the team's lack of success on the ice, but it how continues to gain big crowds. The recent brawl between the Tornado & Ice Rays that resulted in 6 different players getting suspended, including Skyler Spiller for 10 games.

Also the biggest pros & cons of the Junior Game and losing South Texas Rivals with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and the Laredo Bucks as well as looking to see where they futures could be if the Central Hockey League can't survive with all the problems the league has had in recent years regarding teams either folding or moving to different leagues like the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and the North American Hockey League.

1/17 Episode

2012 NAHL Top Prospects Rosters Released

The 6 teams for this year's NAHL Top Prospects Tournament that will be taking place from February 20-22 with the 6 teams taking place at this year's Top Prospects Event from each of the 5 Divisions (Central, Mid-West, North, South, West Coast). As well as a U18 Selects Team for the best players under the age of 18 which includes Anthony Stolarz who was ranked #21 among North American Goalies during the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Season Rankings earlier this month.

Also from Southwest Teams that will be playing for the NAHL U18 Selects is Tornado Forward Justin Greenberg who's been among the top rookies in the NAHL this season. Finally among the Major Snubs is Wenatchee Wild Goalie & Dallas Area Native Robert Nichols who's leading in both GAA (1.59) & SV% (.940).

Here's the Press Release from the North American Hockey League

Also the Links to the Southwest Teams & their players that will be competitng in Troy, Michigan as well.

Amarillo Bulls

Corpus Christi Icerays

Texas Tornado

In addition to the Southwest Team Sites reporting on their players that made the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament. Here's the links to the full rosters for all 6 teams.

Central Division

Mid-West Division

North Division

South Division

West Coast Division

NAHL U18 Selects

The North American Hockey League (NAHL) has announced the rosters for next month's NAHL Top Prospects Tournament, presented by Combat Hockey, which will be held from February 20-22 at the Troy Sports Center in Troy, Michigan.

At the event, six teams - Central, Mid-West, North, South, West Coast & the NAHL U18 Selects - will each play three games. Each team consists of a 20 man roster as chosen by the NAHL Top Prospects Selection Committee as nominated by the league's 28 head coaches, with minor player crossovers among the six teams.

All NAHL Players are eligible to participate in the Top Prospects Tournament, regardless if they've committed to a NCAA School. Each of the teams will contain 12 forwards, 6 defensemen and 2 goaltenders. The number of players represented by each NAHL Team was based on each team's winning percentage as of January 16th.

In conjunction with the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament, all North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) teams - Midget Major (U18), Midget Minor (U16) & Bantam Major (U14) will compete in the PHL Championship Tournament Series for the right to be crowned league champions. That event will also run from February 17-20, also at the Troy Sports Center.

The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) will also have representation at the Top Prospects Tournament, as 8 of the league's 16 teams (Battle Creek, Cleveland, Flint, Metro, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Queen City & Toledo) will play four regular season games from February 19-22 at the Troy Sports Center in Troy, Michigan.

For more info on the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament, click here

Here's the NAHL Top Prospects Schedule, click here

For more info on the NAPHL, click here

For more info on the NA3HL, click here

Corpus Christi Icerays VS. Texas Tornado Line Brawl

During the game on Sunday afternoon between the Corpus Christi Icerays VS. Texas Tornado from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi on Sunday Afternoon. A massive brawl took place near the mid-way point of the third period after an Ice Rays goal by Joe Smereck made it 4-1 at the 7:16 mark of the 3rd period, a massive line brawl that involved players like Skiller Spiller, Connor Burton & Mico Solorzano for the Tornado as well as Phil Pietroniro & Ladislav Hruska for the Ice Rays as well. In addition, they were also a big time screaming match between Texas Tornado Head Coach Tony Curtale & Ice Rays GM Pat Dunn as well on the bench as well.

Here's the Video & Audio

From the Corpus Christi Caller

Greg Rajan Podcast where he discuss the Brawl

Puck Daddy's Reaction

Texas Tornado 1  Corpus Christi Icerays 4  (0-1, 1-1, 0-2)

I would definitely expect some suspensions as well as some other punishments as well from this game. Ice Rays beat writer Greg Rajan mentioned this while in a post game interview. "I have absolutely no idea (why it happened)," D'Arrisso said. "I went to the faceoff and (Spiller) didn't say anything to me.

The bad blood also spilled off the ice, with Ice Rays General Manager Patt Dunn engaging in a shouting match with Tornado Head Coach Tony Curtale & Assistant Jason Bloomingburg, who briefly played in Corpus Christi during the Ice Rays Minor-Pro Years.

Other observation's included from Corpus Christi Icerays Head Coach Justin Quenneville as enforcer Mico Solarzano hopped over the boards, as did "one of their meatsticks," he recalled.

According to Corpus Christi Icerays Beat Writer Greg Rajan, he expects the NAHL to make a decision regarding suspensions and punishments either on Thursday or Friday Night. He think that the majority of the punishments will come on the Tornado Side. Especially targeting players like Skiller Spiller who according to a majority of the videos, was one of the major instigators of the fight. Other possible discipline could come towards Texas Tornado Head Coach Tony Curtale & Ice Rays GM Pat Dunn who were shouting at each other during the fight as well.

Regardless of what punishments come out of this. The Tornado will be heading north to Kansas to play the Topeka Roadrunners in a Friday/Saturday Series (both games start at 7:05 PM). For the Corpus Christi Icerays are also on the road for a Friday/Saturday Series against the Wichita Falls Wildcats (Both Games start 7:05 PM).

How will this affect both team season? The Ice Rays are in the middle of a mid-season surge by winning 6 of their last 8 games which included a pair of critical wins against Odessa back on January 12th and 13th which saw their lead over Odessa for 4th Place from 3 to 7 points at the time (It's currently at 9) and they main job at the moment is to hold off the Jackalopes right now for the 4th & Final Playoff spot in the South Division as Topeka is 14 points ahead in 2nd right now.  However for Texas, it maybe a much different story if they can't hold off the Roadrunners this weekend where they have a chance to leap frog the Tornado for 2nd Place if Topeka can get 3 out of a possible 4 points.

It's also crucial for the Tornado to have a strong series to send a message that they are still looking to show that they should be the favorite in a possible 1st Round Playoff Series come early April. If the Tornado can't come out of this series still in 2nd Place, we could start seeing the beginning of the demise of the Tornado this season that could ruin the teams hopes of looking to win the NAHL Robertson Cup on Home Ice for the 2nd time in team history when the tournament comes around in early May.

This is the 2nd massive brawl in Texas in just under a year and I think Texas Hockey Fans know what happened during the Texas HS Hockey Silver Tier Tournament Championship Game between Keller ISD & Arlington Martin last season, click here to see the Video. Especially what happened to Arlington Martin Player Jeff Sorelle who had a massive concussion & a broken jaw.

With hockey getting more & more attention in Texas, the sport can't afford to have incidents like this or many people will think that the players that play hockey in the Southwest are nothing but a bunch of low class thugs and where scouts will put less emphasis on Texas to find top level talent to play in Juniors & Beyond.

When in fact, we have 2 players that have already been signed by NHL Teams in Stefan Noesen (Plymouth Whalers OHL/Ottawa Prospect) & Matt Donovan (Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL/NY Islanders Prospect) as well as two other players who are getting in great position to sign NHL Entry Level Deals after the NCAA Season wraps up with Chris Brown (Univ. of Michigan CCHA/Phoenix Prospect) & Austin Smith (Colgate University ECAC Hockey/Dallas Prospect). In addition to Smith looking to sign with his home town Dallas Stars, he's also looking to show the NCAA that he could be a serious contender for the Hobey Baker Award this season, if he were to win it this year, this would be the states first ever Hobey Baker Award Winner. Also add in things like the Texas Stars & Houston Aeros making the AHL Calder Cup Finals in back-to-back years.

These are the type of stories that need to start getting out there a lot more to really start seeing the explosive growth in the sport of hockey like we saw in the late 90s and early 2000s to see it again to show players what is capable of playing at the highest levels, including the NHL like were beginning to see with the string of NHL Prospects we have had since 2007 when Austin Smith was taken by the Stars in the 5th Round.

Suspension Announcement

Click here to see the Texas Tornado VS. Corpus Christi Icerays Brawl

The North American Hockey League has announced the suspensions for the Brawl last night. The NAHL doesn't reveal the suspensions on the league website. So I had to go through both teams and Corpus Christi Caller Beat Writer Greg Rajan to get these suspensions and make sure they were in deed correct. To no one's surprise, Tornado Forward Skyler Spiller who delivered the Sucker Punch that started the fight will be out for the next 10 games and won't be able to return until March 2nd when the Tornado play in Kansas against the Roadrunners.

Other suspensions went to Conner Burton who will sit out the next 5 games, Conner won't be available to return to the ice until February 4th when the Tornado hit the road to play the Wichita Falls Wildcats. While 1 game suspensions went to Michael Hoy & Mico Solorzano for the Tornado as well as Ice Rays Defensemen Ladislav Hruska & Forward Joe Smereck as well for their roles in the Brawl as well. Both Ice Rays Players will be able to return this weekend on Saturday Night against the Wichita Falls Wildcats.

One surprise from this story was that neither Texas Tornado Head Coach Tony Curtale or Corpus Christi Icerays GM Pat Dunn who also got in a shouting match with each other. And if it weren't for a piece of pexi-glass splitting the two, they could have easily thrown some punches themselves as well.

Especially for the Tornado, it will be interesting to see how paired with the injury problems the team has had recently. To put these suspensions on top will make it quite a challenge for the Tornado against the Topeka Roadrunners this weekend. Especially on Friday Night when all 4 players will have to sit out. As for Skyler Spiller who's been great on faceoffs and brings a lot of physicality, that will be tough to replace over the next month as Spiller won't be allowed to return to the ice till March 2 when the Tornado head to Kansas to play the Topeka Roadrunners.

After sending some emails to the Texas Tornado for comment, the team hasen't answered any of my emails.

NAHL 3 Stars of the Weeks has a Southwest Flavor

All the NAHL Stars of the week has a Southwest Flavor which includes Dallas Native & Wenatchee Wild Goalie Robert Nichols who was named the Top Star of the week. In addition to being named the Top Star of the Week, he's been among the league's top goaltenders all season long with an impressive 1.48 GAA and a strong 13-2-3 record and an impressive 6 Shutouts this season.

He's a '92 birth year and would still have one more season of Junior Egilibity remaining after this season. But he's also hot on the tail when it comes down to being looked by NCAA Teams. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if he announces a NCAA Commitment at some point this season

In addition, Corpus Christi Icerays Goalie Anthony Stolarz continued an impressive run after being ranked in the NHL Draft Rankings. He was named the #2 Star of the week after he looks to continue his dominate run and help carry the Ice Rays to the Playoffs for the 1st time in the NAHL Era. While New Mexico Mustangs Forward & the team's scoring leader Adam Chapie was the #3 Star of the week as well in one of the team's better weekends of the season.

NAHL 3 Stars of the Week Press Release

By NAHL Staff: The North American Hockey League (NAHL) announced the Three Stars of the Week ending January 15, 2012. The Three Stars of the Week is a weekly feature during the 2011-2012 regular season that honors the top performing players of the regular season nominated by their respective teams.

1st Star: Robert Nichols, Wenatchee Wild Goaltender: Having already earned 3rd star honors back on September 27th, Wenatchee Goaltender Robert Nichols, 19, put together a perfect weekend in goal as he was able to post shutouts in back-to-back starts and help the Wild to a three game road sweep of the Dawson Creek Rage. On Friday, the Dallas, Texas native stopped all 27 shots in a 2-0 win. On Sunday, he made 13 saves in a 3-0 win over the Rage. Nichols (5'11" 180) set a new individual single-season Wenatchee Record for shutouts with his sixth of the season, Nichols surpassed Brandon Jaeger, who recorded five shutouts last season.

For the week, Nichols was perfect stopping all 40 shots he saw. Nichols continues to have a record breaking season. He currently leads in the NAHL in both goals against average (GAA) and save percentage (94.3%). "It makes it easier for the entire team when Robert is playing like he is. He is a smart goalie and can play the puck as well as anyone I have ever seen." said Wild Head Coach John Becanic. "To have the goalie tandem like we do really sheds some light on how well these guys are playing in goal and hopefully it leads to some NCAA Division 1 Opportunities."

2nd Star: Anthony Stolarz, Corpus Christi Icerays Goalie: Corpus Christi netminder Anthony Stolarz, 17, who recently committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha in the WCHA, arguably had his best weekend of the year as he helped the Ice Rays to three wins over the weekend to continue their current winning streak and keep a firm grip on a playoff spot in the South Division. On Friday, the Jackson, New Jersey Native allowed just one goal on 30 shots as the 'Rays beat Odessa 2-1 in a shootout. The next night, Stolarz (6'5" 200) stopped all 40 shots that came his way as Corpus Christi shutout the Jackalopes, 3-0.

On Sunday, Stolarz started his 9th consecutive game and made 33 saves in a 4-1 defeat of the Texas Tornado. For the weekend, Stolarz stopped an amazing 102 of 104 shots good for a 98.1 save % for the week and 0.64 GAA. "He delivered a complete weekend for us and continues to give us a chance to win each game," said Ice Rays head Coach Justin Quenneville. "Since his commitment to Nebraska-Omaha he has been playing his best hockey of the season. "I think he is still out to prove he is the best goalie in the country at this level."

3rd Star: Adam Chapie, New Mexico Mustangs Forward: University of Massachusetts-Lowell recruit Adam Chapie, helped the New Mexico Mustangs to their first weekend sweep since late November as the forward from Oxford, Michigan recorded five points (3G 2A) in a two game home-and-home sweep against the Wichita Falls Wildcats. On Saturday, Chapie (6'1 175) recorded a goal and two assists as the Mustangs picked up a big 5-2 road win in Wichita Falls. On Sunday, Chapie recorded two more goals, including the game-winner as New Mexico swept the Wildcats with a 7-4 win in New Mexico.

Chapie was also +5 on the weekend and scored his team leading fourth game-winning goal. Chapie leads the Mustangs in scoring with 35 points (19 Goals, 16 Assists) in 37 games played. "It has been a great year for Adam and he seems to be consistently producing every weekend," said Mustangs Head Coach Jason Kersner. "He has done a lot for the team in his two years and has stuck through it to make us feel we have the pieces in place to be a playoff contender this year."

Other players nominated were (Alphabetical): Gabe Antoni, Springfield Jr. Blues Goaltender -  Tyler Bruggeman, Austin Bruins Goaltender - Mike Fazio, Chicago Hitmen forward -  Alex Fons, Fairbanks Ice Dogs Goaltender -  Christan George, Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings Forward -  Jake Hebda, Minot Minotauros Goaltender - Logan Lemirande, Pt. Huron Fighting Falcons Forward - Zach Lindsay, Corpus Christi Icerays Forward - Jake Lynes, Topeka Roadrunners Forward - Ken MacLean, Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings Goaltender - Darren McCormick, Janesville Jets Forward - Ian Miller, Pt. Huron Fighting Falcons Forward - JT Osborn, Fairbanks Ice Dogs Forward - Shawn Pauly, Wenatchee Wild Forward - Jimmy Peplinski, New Mexico Mustangs Forward - Sean Reynolds, Chicago Hitmen Forward - Tyler Richter, Bismarck Bobcats Forward - TJ Sarcona, Amarillo Bulls Forward - Chris Sitler, Springfield Jr. Blues Forward - Castan Sommer, Bismarck Bobcats Forward - Trace Strahie, Topeka Roadrunners Defensemen





Arlington Native Colten Martin & Corpus Christi Ice Rays Goalie Anthony Stolarz ranked in the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Season Rankings

Two players with current Texas Ties have made the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Season Rankings that came out today. Unlike last year where we had Stefan Noesen & Colin Jacobs that became slam dunks to be drafted. The Southwest Region doesn't have anyone this year that will be considered slam dunks and will be fighting to continue to gain Interest from NHL Teams over the 2nd half of the Regular Season and going into the early portion of the playoffs when the End-of-Season Rankings come out in Late April.

First up is Arlington Native Colten Martin who is in the middle of his 1st season with the Kelowna Rockets (WHL). Colten is a defensemen where his strong suits including his great passing abilities, speed to occasionally join in on the counter attack and improving his game on the faceoff. He's showing his ability to improve his offensive abilities recently by being more aggressive with setting up forwards like Shane McColgan, Brett Bulmer & Carter Rigby.

Even though he was ranked #146 among NA Skaters Rankings, Kelowna Rockets Assistant Coach Ryan Cuthbret sees a lot of room of improvement over the 2nd half of the season coming up. It was also mentioned that has a great hockey IQ and is a fast learner as well. He will be looking to continue to gain NHL Scouting Interest & increase his Scouting Ranking when the End of Season Rankings come out in April by playing a big role in getting his team in the WHL Playoffs this season.

So far, the Rockets sit in 6th Place in the WHL Western Conference (3rd in the B.C. Division) with a 17-20-5 record (39 PTS). If the Regular Season ended today, the Rockets would face the Portland Winterhawks in the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

"Colten has put himself on the map by being a competitive kid. He thinks the game well and has good instincts." Said Kelowna Rockets Assist Coach Ryan Cuthbret. Warren Henderson who is the Kelowna Rockets Beat Writer for the Kelowna Capital News, has also mentioned "that he has exceeded expectations and continues to gain confidence during his 1st season in the Western Hockey League (WHL)," about him in an email.

So far through this season, he has scored 9 points (1G 8A) in 40 games played this season. He also has 2 Multi Point Performances this season, 1st it was a 2 assist performance in a 4-2 win over the Prince George Cougars on 11/19. He also has scored his only goal of the season back on December 14th against the Regina Pats where he scored the OT Winner that night & to this point, it's his only goal of the season so far.

He's not going to be one of those players that will score a lot of points as he is more of an energy & speed guy to help out the defense get out of trouble when needed and to help set up the team's more skilled forwards. He's also looking to improve his game on faceoffs to help get the puck out of trouble, especially on defensive zone faceoffs and looking to increase the amount of time he gets on special teams (Especially on the PK).

Corpus Christi Icerays Goalie Anthony Stolarz was the only North American Hockey League (NAHL) Player to make the rankings where he was ranked #21 among North American Goalies. The Native of Jackson, New Jersey has all ready announced his NCAA commitment to the University of Nebraska-Omaha in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) starting next season. So far this season for the Ice Rays, he has a strong 13-10-2 Record with a 2.54 GAA & a .924 SV% as well.

His only shutout of the season came back on December 16 against the New Mexico Mustangs with a 4-0 shutout win that came just before the league's Christmas Break, recently he has been coming up big where he has given up in 5 of the last 6 games where he has given up 2 or fewer goals and has a 4-2 record during that time going back to December 30 against the Wichita Falls Wildcats.

He will continue to need to be big as the Ice Rays have been having issues finding a suitable back-up goaltender for Stolarz as no one else has been able to play more then 6 games all season to help Stolarz. His current back up Matt Laprade gave up 5 goals in his only performance which was part of a 10-3 loss where he was pulled just after the mid-way point of the game back on January 6 against the Amarillo Bulls. So he will have to continue the carry a heavy load as he looks to impress over the 2nd half of the season.

The Good News is that his effort is beginning to pay off as the Ice Rays are looking to pull away from the New Mexico Mustangs, Wichita Falls Wildcats & Odessa Jackalopes thanks to a weekend sweep which included a pair of victories over Odessa (2-1 & 3-0), as well as a win yesterday afternoon against the Texas Tornado (4-1). These results takes his record to 15-10-1 and takes his GAA to an impressive 2.38. Also, this increases the gap between the Ice Rays and the 5th Place Jackalopes to 9 points for the 4th & Final Spot in the South Division race.

Regardless of how well the team plays, it will have to go on a major hot streak in order to catch up to the Texas Tornado & Topeka Roadrunners who are still a good 14 & 16 points ahead in the Race for the 2nd Spot which would get them Home Ice in the 1st Round of the NAHL Playoffs as they will look to make a shock run to the NAHL Robertson Cup Tournament that will be in Frisco in early May.

In addition to looking to get the Icerays to the Playoffs for the 1st time in the NAHL Era, he will be looking to impress during the upcoming NAHL Top Prospects Tournament that will be taking place from February 20-22 coming up in Troy, Michigan where he will most likely be playing on the NAHL Selects Team which will be for the best players in the NAHL Under the age of 18.

He will be looking to be the torch barer for the North American Hockey League as he is the only NAHL Player to be ranked in the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Season Rankings this year and will look to climb the rankings over the 2nd half of the season.

A pair of Russians in Nail Yakupov (Sarnia Sting OHL) & Mikhail Grigorenko (Quebec City Remparts, QMJHL) are currently 1 & 2 in the NA Skaters Rankings who are coming off strong performances at the recent WJHC Tournament in Alberta, Canada. Yakupov is currently the front runner to be the #1 Overall Pick this year, while Grigorenko could have a jump of taking him down for the #1 if a major injury or something happens to Yakupov.

Overall, 7 of the top 10 players in the NA Rankings are defensemen which begins with Everett Silvertips Defensemen Ryan Murray, along with the likes of Rielly Morgan with the Moose Jaw Warriors & Matthew Dumba of the Red Deer Rebels. In all, the Western Hockey League lead the top 10 with 5 Players being ranked. The Ontario Hockey League (OHL), while the USNTDP U18 & QMJHL each had 1 player each in the top 10 among North American Skaters.

The Top American in the rankings is Jacob Trouba who was the only member of the USNTDP U18 Team that made Team USA for the World Junior Hockey Championships that wrapped up in Alberta where the Americans finished in a disappointing 7th Place this season. Which was one of the worst showings for the Americans since 1999, by finishing 7th and playing in the Relegation Round. Other members of the USTNDP U18 Team that made the Draft Rankings include Stefan Matteau who's 13th & Brady Skjei who's ranked 18th as well.

Among NA Goaltenders is Malcom Subban of the OHL's Belleville Bulls is on top of the Goaltending Lists right now. The top 5 also had Matthew Murray (Sault St. Marie Greyhounds/OHL), Brandon Whitney (Victoriaville Tigers/QMJHL) was ranked #3, Jon Gillies (Indiana Ice/USHL) is 4th, and Jake Paterson (Saginaw Spirit/OHL) round out of the top 5 this season.

Leading the European Lists has Filip Forsberg who's with Leksand in the Swedish 2nd Division. Finally among European Goaltenders has Andrei Vasilevski who's with Ufa 2nd Division which plays in the Russian 2nd Division.

Were only half way through the season right now and the End of Season Rankings will be coming out in Late April. While the 2012 NHL Draft will be taking place June 22 & 23 in Pittsburgh this upcoming summer.

Here's the Full NHL Central Scouting Mid-Season Rankings.

NA Skaters

NA Goalies

EURO Skaters

EURO Goalies

Corpus Christi scores key victory in NAHL South Division Playoff Race

Corpus Christi was able to score a huge 2-1 Shootout victory and was able to increase their South Division Lead to 5 points with the help to a great goaltending performance by Anthony Stolarz, who by the way was ranked 21st among North American Goaltenders earlier this week in the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Season Draft Rankings.

Also the only goal in regulation, just 5 minutes later, Odessa scored their only goal of the game from Josh Obregon. After that, it was a battle of goalies where both Stolarz & Connor Hellebuyck made some great saves in the performances. For Hellebuyck, he made 34 of 35 shots while Stolarz made 29 of 30 shots in the OT Game.

Even the shootout was dominated by the goalies when Tyler Cayemberg scored 1st in the 3rd Round of the Shootout. However, they couldn't take advantage of Hellebuyck's great performance to prevent Zachary Lindsay & Dmitry Ermakov to score in the 4th & 5th Rounds to comeback to win the SO & the Game 2-1 last night at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi.

Both the Ice Rays & Jackalopes will be playing again tonight at 7:05 PM as well where the Ice Rays can extend their lead again for the 4th & Final Playoff spot in the South Division. Also the Amarillo Bulls & Topeka Roadrunners are playing in Amarillo at 7:00 PM in a game where Topeka will be looking to get in a 2nd Place Tie with the Tornado in the South Division.

Finally the Texas Tornado will host the Wichita Falls Wildcats at 7:30 PM at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco tonight. The Tornado have lost 3 in a row as the team is battling injuries and a surging Roadrunners Team that has won 9 of their last 10 with a rock hard defense that has given up 2 or fewer goals in every single victory over that span. The only loss was a 7-1 defeat at home where the Wild scored 4 Power Play Goals back on December 17 just before the Christmas Break.

Odessa Jackalopes 1  Corpus Christi Icerays 2  (SO) (0-0, 1-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)

Current NAHL South Division Standings

1. Amarillo  38 GP  30-3-5  65 PTS  168-86

2. Texas  37 GP  22-9-6  50 PTS  135-101

3. Topeka  36 GP  23-11-2  48 PTS  111-92

4. Corpus Christi  34 GP  16-16-2  34 PTS  100-106

5. Odessa  33 GP  12-16-5  29 PTS  69-99

6. Wichita Falls  35 GP  12-21-2  26 PTS  87-115

7. New Mexico  35 GP  10-23-2  22 PTS  94-162

By Greg Rajan of the Corpus Christi Caller

Game Photos by George Tuley

From Corpus Christi, Texas: Given the playoff stakes, it was only natural that Thursday's Game had a post-season feel to it.

There was tentative, cautious play at times and stellar goaltending was the dominant theme. In the end,  the Icerays found enough timely scoring to nab themselves a critical victory. Corpus Christi outlasted the Odessa Jackalopes 2-1 in a shootout at the American Bank Center, giving the Ice Rays consecutive victories for the first time in more then two months.

The Ice Rays (16-16-2  34 PTS) moved up 5 points up on the Jackalopes (12-16-5 29 PTS) for the final playoff spot in the North American Hockey League's South Division (NAHL), with their two game set wrapping up tonight.

"There was a sense of relief that we got the point (for getting to overtime)," Ice Rays Coach Justin Quenneville said. "Realistically, that's not the goal we set to accomplish. We wanted the four point swing. We left (one) point on the table, but at the end of the day, a win is a win. We've got to build off it."

For the fifth time in the last six games, the Ice Rays allowed two goals or fewer.

"The Guys are really buying into the system," said Ice Rays Goalie Anthony Stolarz, who made 29 saves. "The maturity is coming in and the discipline is the most important thing, listening for the coaches. As long as we listen to what they have to say, I think the success in the end will definitely be worth it."

In the shootout, Stolarz out dueled Odessa Counter part Connor Hellebuyck, stopping four of the 5 Jackalopes' five attempts. Corpus Christi trailed entering it's final two shooters, but Zachary Lindsay & Dmitry Ermakov beat Hellebuyck to claim the victory.

For Ermakov, it was his second straight shootout winner. He scored in the eighth round to decide Saturday's 3-2 victory at Amarillo. Against Odessa, Ermakov used a backhand-to-forehand move and flipped a shoot over the 6'5" Hellebuck's blocker and inside the left post.

"He's been a big goalie like our goalie, so it's just a matter of getting him moving side to side and then finishing it," Ermakov said. "As our coach stated to us, (in the 2nd) half of the season we treat every game as a playoff game and and play a playoff style."

The teams traded second period goals, with Brandon Smith tallying for Corpus Christi and ex-Ice Ray Josh Obgren responding for Odessa. But otherwise, it was all about Stolarz and Hellebuyck, who from 12 feet, 9 inches of goaltender between them and showed why they're two of the top net minders in the NAHL.

"When you've got two great goaltenders playing like they did tonight, you knew it was going to be a frustrating contest in terms of offensive output," Quenneville said.

"But we showed a lot of good signs in terms of creating more four ourselves and being patient with the puck. They're frustrating steps - you want to see the results all the time and right away - but it does take time. With 15 first year junior players, we know there is going to be some heartache.

"But they're working hard and the energy is there. It's the bearing down and the execution from the top to bottom. We've got to find ways to put teams away early when we have the momentum and the opportunities."

Loose Pucks

Ice Rays goalie Anthony Stolarz was ranked #21 among NA Goalies in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's Mid-Season rankings released this week. Stolarz was the only NAHL Player to crack the CSB Rankings.

More Games Notes from Greg Rajan





It's a lucky 13 for the Tornado with a 3-1 win over Corpus

Theirs just one question Tornado Opponents would like to crack, who can stop the Tornado winning streak that just keeps going and going.

 After a 3-1 win in the first of a two game weekend against the Corpus Christi Icerays, the Tornado have made it a lucky 13 to continue their winning streak in-front of the largest crowd of the season in a promotion called Pack the House Weekend as they looking to take advantage of the Stars road-trip and the Americans being on the road as well. The Tornado have just kept going and going.

Some impressive streaks were able to continue on Friday Night as Jackson Leef extended his Goal Scoring streak to 4 after being named the NAHL South Division Player of the Week last weekend.

Plano Native Marc Biggs is beginning to come alive as he has scored at least one point in 9 of his last 11 games and takes his season total to 12 points (7G 5A) after starting the season with just 1 point in his first 7 of the regular season.

Another player who had a very strong night is Mike Fleming who usually is a grinder and brings the physicality had his first career Multi Point Night of his career.

After scoring 0 points in just 12 games played in a part-time role last year has continued to improve his hitting and maybe provide the occasional point throughout the season as well.

In goal it was another great night for Jimmy Kruger who's transaction back in September has been paying off big time as he made 27 of 28 shots in the game as he is now a perfect 9-0 in his time in a Tornado Uniform along with stunning numbers in both GAA with a 1.43 and a .943 SV% this season.

For Corpus Christi, they not winning as much, but are still making some strong strides as they taking fewer penalties and improved a lot since losing 8-3 to the Tornado in Corpus Christi back on October 24.

They will play again tonight at 7:30 PM as the Tornado are looking to bring in the biggest crowd of the season tonight on this Pack-The-House Weekend to bring in some of the biggest crowds of the season. So far it's seems to be working as the attendance was averaging about 1600 per game up to this point.

Tonight brought the biggest home crowd of the season with nearly 2,400 with the game on Saturday Night expected to bring in even more.

Corpus Christi Icerays 1  Texas Tornado 3  (1-1, 0-2, 0-0)

Game Story from the Texas Tornado Website

From Frisco, Texas: In front of the largest crowd of the season, the Texas Tornado increased their winning streak to 13 straight games with a 3-1 win over visiting Corpus Christi Icerays on Friday Night at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco. Mike Fleming scored his first career goal as a Tornado and added an assist for first star honors, Michael Zagari scored the game winning goal and Tornado Goaltender Jimmy Kruger made 28 saves.

The Tornado and Icerays will faceoff again on Saturday Night November, 13 at 7:30 PM at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco. It is also a Pack The House Night. Tickets are just $5 and $25 and can be purchased by calling or stopping by the Tornado Office at 972-335-9800. The festivities began at 4:00 PM with a pre-game tail party in the South Parking Lot.

The Tornado began the game with the majority of the action in the Corpus Christi Zone. After failing to convert on two power plays, the Tornado got on the scoreboard first with a goal from Mike Fleming, who scored his first career goal on a nice pass from the slot as he fired a shot past a scrambling Phoenix Copley. The 'Rays would tie the game late in the first period with just 22 seconds left as Jonathan Sado got loose in the low slot and one timed a shot past Jimmy Kruger to tie the game at 1-1 after the first period.

The 2nd period was all Tornado as they out-shot the Corpus Christi Icerays 18-7 margin. The Tornado started strong again taking a 2-1 lead just 3 minutes into the period as Michael Zagari walked out on the corner and beat Copley between the legs.

Mike Fleming and Taylor Hendron assisted on Zagron's goal second goal of the season. The Tornado made the score 3-1 on the power play as Marc Biggs found himself alone behind the net and centered the puck to an open Jackson Leef. The reigning player of the week fired a 15 foot past Copley for his 10th goal of the season and a 3-1 Tornado lead after two periods.

The 3rd period saw Goaltender Jimmy Kruger steal the show, as he stopped all 14 Icerays shots that came his way to seal the victory for Texas, who are now just four wins away from equaling their longest regular season winning streak in franchise history.

Corpus Christi uses strong 2nd period to end Winless Streak

Corpus Christi has had a string of very close but still losing to different teams and losing ground in the South Division as the team is currently 4 points back of 4th Place Topeka who currrently holds the 4th and final playoff spot. You have to go back to October 10 when the Icerays last won against the struggling New Mexico Mustangs who are cleary the weak link in the South Division this season.

After Stephen Fahlstedt and Dakota Klecha who scored for the Wildcats less then 30 seconds apart, that part the Icerays team in another funk as the Icerays were looking to end a winless streak.

But when 2 2nd period goals scored just under 2 minutes apart, plus a Ben Hughes goal midway through the 2nd period to put them up 3-2, the Icerays began to take over the game which included 2 Power Play Goals and a SH Goal Empty Netter to officially clinch the Icerays first win since October 10.

The two teams play again tonight at the American Bank Center before Corpus Christi leaves on a 7 game road-trip. While Wichita Falls will have a busy 3 game week next week, first a mid-week home game against the Texas Tornado, then a weekend series against the Amarillo Bulls next weekend.


Corpus Christi Icerays Players Heading to the Top Prospects Tournament

Wichita Falls Wildcats 2  Corpus Christi Icerays 4  (2-0, 0-3, 0-1)

Here's the Game Report from Greg Rajan of the Corpus Christi Caller

From Corpus Christi, Texas: It's a stretch to say the Icerays turned around their season with one game. But for one night, they saw a lot of things they'd been missing in recent weeks.

Corpus Christi snapped a five game winless streak on Thrusday Night, rallying for the game's final four goals to down the Wichita Falls Wildcats 4-2 at the American Bank Center.

The Icerays (7-8-2, 16 points) won in regularation for the first time since September 17 at the North American Hockey League Showcase. Corpus Christi also halted a four game winless stretch against the Wichita Falls Wildcats (12-5-2, 26 points).

"That paid off after a long week of hard practice," said Icerays defensemen Jason Suova, who had a goal and an assist. "We came out with a good start that we haven't had in a long time. When they scored those couple goals, it was like 'come on'. But we battled back like usual and finally held a lead and won in regulation against one of the top teams in the league."

Things didn't look auspicious first 15 minutes into the game, as the Icerays found themselves down 2-0 after the Wildcats Tanner Fahlstedt and Dakota Klecha scored scored goals 33 seconds apart.

"There weren't to many negatives things said," Hughes said. "We had a pretty good period other then those two breakdowns that lead to the goals. "We're a team that has a lot of heart. We came out strongly today and part of our identity is to come back and battles back when we fall behind."

The first goal came three minutes into the frame. Souva's shot came from the left point was stopped, but the rebound came to Beau Walker at the bottom of the right circle. The Icerays leading scorer promptly buried the puck into an empty net with five seconds left on the power play.

Corpus Christi needed less then two minutes to find the equalizer. After the Icerays won an offensive zone faceoff, Cody Milligan set up Joey Parizek in the low slot and he snapped in the low shot and he snapped a wirst shot past goalie Eric Garavaglia at 4:55.

The Icerays then took their first lead on the man advantage at 11:14. Jacob Diamond's inital shot was stopped, but the rebound went to Hughes in the high slot and he snapped it over Garavaglia and under the crossbar.

The Icerays then nursed that lead over the final 28 plus minutes, with some strong work from from goalie Phoenix Copley.

Hughes was sent off for holding with 1:34 left and then the Wildcats pulled Garavaglia for a six-on-four advantage, but Suova, from behind his goal line scored into the empty net with 54.5 seconds left to seal the victory.

"It was extremely tough," Hughes said of watching the final penalty kill. "I told Souva that I never celebrated so hard before in the penalty box. That's something where we earned our breaks. We hadn't been getting too many breaks all season. We really worked hard for it tonight and things went our way."

NAHL South Division Report: Corpus Christi bringing in Huge Crowds

Even though the Corpus Christi Icerays are currently in 5th place in the NAHL South Division, they are winning big at the gates and with the fans as they are leading the league in average attendance with just under 3500 per game and a couple of games where they have pushed 6,000 at the American Bank Center.

It's starting to look like that making the move from Minor League to Junior is turning out to be a great move for the city and the team. During the final year of the Corpus Christi Icerays playing in the Central Hockey League were they were averaging a little over 3,000 fans per game.

But they are embracing the Junior Route and hope to make a desirable destination for young players to come to their team in the near future and hoping to compete with teams like the Texas Tornado and Wichita Falls Wildcats for players in the Southwestern part of the country.

Here's a look at the rest of this Weeks Division Reports.

West Division, No Place like home for Fresno

NAHL South Division Report by Zach Duncan of the NAHL Website

Some Hockey fans in Corpus Christi were skeptical when it announced last May that the local pro team would be replaced by a NAHL Team.

But it hasn't taken long for those fans to be won over by the excitement of Junior A Hockey.

The Icerays lead the NAHL in attendance with an average of 3,446 fans per game. In Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Texas Tornado, 5,912 fans came out for the team's annual stars and stripes Night, in which tickets were provided to the families of Police, Fire, other law enforcement and emergency response personnel.

Another 5,762 fans showed up at the American Bank Center on October 10 to witness a 5-4 shutout victory over the New Mexico Mustangs.

Corpus Christi coach Brent Hughes said the transition from pro to junior hockey couldn't have been much smoother, and has received lots of support and positive feedback from the fans.

"It's gone really super well," said Hughes, who is enjoying his first stint coaching junior hockey after spending the last seven years in Pro Hockey in Corpus Christi and Austin. "A lot of skepticism was definitely in the air (about the league switch). A lot of people didn't know about Junior Hockey in Texas.

"It's pretty much the same speed as the pro game, and the intensity is probably higher."

Hughes said that Icerays GM Pat Dunn invited all of last year's season ticket holders to the first two home dates on October 1 and 2 and guaranteed that he'd refund their money for 2010-2011 if they were satisfied.

The result was an increase in season tickets sold. Corpus Christi has always drawn well - it averaged 3104 fans in 32 home games a year ago as a pro team - so it's not too surprising that fans have embraced a different level of hockey.

While the crowds have been stellar, the Icerays own a 3-3 record at the American Bank Center and are 6-6-2 on the season.

Hughes said he expected a slow start because his squad is young and it was assembled later then most. The Alpena team wasn't relocated to South Texas until after many teams have tendered prospects and the 2010 NAHL Draft had taken place.

"If I was told we'd be almost .500 almost two months into the season, I would have taken all day long." Hughes said. "With Junior Kids, there's a bigger learning curve. We're making headway, and the guys keep working together."

Goaltender Marco Wesiner, who played in 42 games with Alpena last year, has been pivotal to the Icerays Success early on. Hughes also said that leading scorers Beau Walker (21 Points) and Mike Benedict (15 Points) have flourished in early roles. Walker scored all of 7 points a year ago with the Alaska Avalanche.


South Division Notebook

Amarillo Bulls: The Bulls have been outstanding at home this season, winning seven of eight and outscoring opponents 39-24 in the process. Forward Zack Smoot and defensemen Karl Backman are a combined +20 inside the Amarillo Civic Center. The Bulls only play two games in the next three weeks.

Here's the Amarillo Bulls Weekly Release

New Mexico Mustangs: Forward Adam Chapie has a hand in all the Mustangs goals during Saturday's 5-3 loss to Wichita Falls. Chapie, a Michigan Native, registered a goal and two assists. He leads New Mexico with 9 points this season.

Texas Tornado:  The Tornado has won eight straight and moved into sole possession of first place with a weekend sweep of Corpus Christi. Texas has scored at least eight goals once in each of the past three weekends, and J.D. Howard returned after being sidelined for three weeks with an injury to lead Texas with four points against the Icerays.

Here's some interesting news items on activities coming up.

First here's what's planned for Halloween Weekend

Texas Tornado Tailgate Parties

Topeka Roadrunners: Topeka split it's home weekend series against the St. Louis bandits. The Roadrunners rallied from a 3-1 deficit Friday behind five goals in the third period to win 6-3. Captain Michael Hill scored twice. While Jordan Davis and Nate Milam recorded shorthanded tallies a mere 45 seconds apart.

Wichita Falls Wildcats: After a 1-for-25 stretch on the power play on its previous four games, the Wildcats broke out of a slump by going 5-for-14 during a four point weekend. Mac Olson, who had a hat trick in Sunday's 5-3 win against New Mexico and Mikhail Sentyurin had two man advantage goals each.

Texas Tornado make it a lucky 7 with 2-1 win

Mike it a lucky 7 for the Texas Tornado as the team goes 3-for-3 on this current road trip after a sweep of the New Mexico Mustangs last weekend, the road success continues as the team wins their 9th game of the season and is again tied for 1st in the South Division with the Amarillo Bulls with a hard fought 2-1 win against a Corpus Christi Icerays team that is getting known as a rough and tumble team to play against that is not afraid to take penalties and deliver hits all over the ice.

Of the 9 wins for the Tornado, 6 of the 9 have come away from the Dr. Pepper Arena (Including the Blaine Showcase). Despite only playing 3 games at the Dr. Pepper Arena so far, they going to get a lot of home games coming up with next weekend starting a string from now till New Years where 14 of the next 18 will be at home.

So this will be a chance for the Tornado to make a statement to the league that they are a major contender and get to bring in some big home crowds coming up as we enter November and December.

One player that has benefited from the recent rash of injures for the Tornado is Marc Biggs with him scoring his 4th goal in his last 5 games that dates back to the October 8 game against the Amarillo Bulls, he got a very crisp pass from a fresh J.D. Howard who recently returned after missing due to his own injury to set up the 2nd and game winning goal of the game in the closing seconds of the 2nd period to give the Tornado a 2-0 lead.

In addition to Biggs goal, Nathan Sliwinski also scored early on while Jimmy Kruger made 20-of-21 saves for the Tornado in the 2-1 win while Beau Walker scored the lone goal for the Icerays last night.

From the Texas Tornado Boster Club Website

Texas Tornado 2  Corpus Christi Icerays 1  (1-0, 1-0, 0-1)

From Corpus Christi, Texas: The Texas Tornado made their first trip to the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi to take on the Icerays.

The Tornado controlled play from the drop of the puck forcing three Icerays penalties with their skating and aggressive offense. Texas took a one goal lead on a power play nearly six minutes into the period. Alex Thieda took the puck down the boards through neutral ice and into the the offensive zone then sent the puck to the high slot for a Josh Royston touch pass to Nathan Sliwinski for a quick backhander.

Despite the tilt to the ice to the Tornado were only able to solve Marco Wiesner once in the period and took the one goal lead to the locker room for the first intermission.

The action in the second period came mostly with the gloves off. At the 5:10 mark Rodney Lalonde and Brandon Marshall dropped the mitts and sized each one another up as they circled. Once they came together Marshall started throwing rights immediately but was connecting with nothing but air. Rodney was patient for an opening before he started landing rights to the side of Marshall's head. Marshall was more active in the bout but Lalonde landed about 2-1 for the clear win.

They would be another fight at 19:27 into the period when Jimmy Kruger covered and a Tyler Parker started pushing in-front of the net. Michael Zagari took the challenge and dropped the gloves. The bout was pretty even with neither side really landing that much.

Off the faceoff after the fight, the Tornado worked the puck into the zone and Marc Biggs put the puck past Weisner with an assist from JD Howard in his first game since being injured on October 2nd in Topeka. Time of the goal was 19:49.

The fisticuffs started early in the third period. The puck was frozen along the far boards in the Tornado zone when Cody Miligan came hard into the scrum. Mico Solorzano took exception to the hit and and dropped the gloves. Once they came together, Miligan threw 4 quick rabbits punches. Mico came back with two big rights with the second landing square on Miligan's chin and sending him straight to the ice on his face and a decisive win for Solorzano.

The Icerays finally got on the scoreboard on a lucky bounce at the 4:03 mark. The puck went into the corner and Beau Walker tried to send a cross a centering pass out from front well behind the goal line and the puck went off Kruger's back and dribbled into the net.

The Icerays had an opportunity to tie the game at the 12:03 when they were awarded a penalty shot when Ralfs Fribergs was called for covering the puck in the crease. Replays showed that Fribergs was cleary outside the crease. On the attempt Mike Benedict, who is Corpus' leading scorer, took the puck wide left, brought it in and tried to make a move on Kruger. Jimmy stood tall and porked the puck away with the stick to perserve the 2-1 lead.

SOG for the game were 36-21 in favor of the Tornado. The Texas Power Play also came through again scoring once in nine opportunities while the penalty kill was perfect on two man advantages for the Icerays.

The Tornado remain in a tie for first place in the division and have an opportunity to take sole possession of the Division Lead with a win tomorrow against Corpus Christi as the two teams meet again Sunday Afternoon at 3:05 PM.

NAHL South Division Report; Amarillo taking early success in stride

Here's a look at this weeks South Division Report about the Amarillo Gorillas off to a great start as they take in a new home after being in the Southern Minnesota town of Albert Lea where they were having problem after problem with the team before they moved to the Texas Panhandle.

So far, the Bulls are tied for first in the South Division with a 9-3-1 record through 13 games and will be hosting the Wichita Falls Wildcats on Friday Night for the only game of the weekend. They hoping that they can get the win and get some help from the Corpus Christi Icerays as they will host the Texas Tornado for a pair of games this weekend on Saturday Night and Sunday Afternoon.

The top players for the Bulls so far has to be one of the top goalies in the NAHL with a solid .929 SV% and a 2.17 GAA in 12 games played this season.

As for offensive production, keep a look out for Zach Smoot who's leading the team in scoring with 14 points (6G 8A) as well as Cody Freeman who leads the team in goals right now with 7. In addition just announced yesterday that defensemen Kyle Sucher has been named on the NHL Central Scouting Watch list for 2011. Sucher is a commit to Bowling Green State University and has 2 goals in 8 games so far this season.

Here's the NAHL South Division Report by Zach Duncan

Derek Williams is a firm believer in keeping everything in an even keel. So though his Amarillo Bulls are fresh of an impressive two game sweep of the Topeka Roadrunners and are tied for the NAHL South Lead, don't expect them to be overconfident.

"It's a long season, and we'll have some highs and lows," said Williams, who came to the Amarillo Bulls after coaching at Bowling Green State Univeristy. "Whetever gets thrown at us, we just have to keep going."

Saturday Night was a perfect example of maintain composure through adversity.

After the Bulls 4-2 victory on Friday in which Dan Sherer scored twice - including the game winner with 7:15 to go - Topeka surged ahead 4-1 the next night.

But the Bulls didn't panic. When Michael Erickson scored with one second remaining in the second period, Amarillo was re-energized despite trailing by two goals.

"It gave us some life," Williams said. "In the locker room, we talked about how we've scored two goals in a lot of periods this year. We aren't going to change our game plan."

Terrance Johnson and Chris Cass responded by finding the back of the net in the final 20 minutes, and Johnson notched the difference maker in the seventh round of the shootout.

The Bulls are third in the NAHL in scoring, averaging 4.15 Goals per game. But there isn't anyone from Amarillo that's in the top 15 of the league's leading scoring leaders.

Impressive depth is the reason for that. Ten players have recorded at least 8 points, led by Zach Smoot (6G 8A) and Cody Freeman (7G 5A).

In fact, theirs not a single player on the Amarillo's current roster with plus-minus rating in the red.

"All four lines are contributing," said Williams. "I can't tell you who our #1 line is right now. We're strived for 5-on-5."

The Defense lead by captain Derek Hills, Luke Jenkins and Karl Backman, has also hunkered down, allowing just 26.42 shots per game.

Williams said that Amarillo has a good mix of veterans and junior hockey newcomers. Eight Bulls played last season with the Albert Lea Thunder, the team that relocated to Texas during the off-season.

One of those was Smoot, who Williams said he is a fast skater and good puck-handler who's elevated his game up a notch since the preseason.

Another is goaltender Nikifor Szczerba, who played in 13 games for the Thunder in 2009-2010.

"I thought at camp, he looked a little out of shape and his conditioning was suspect," Williams said. "Now's he's getting in workouts after games, going hard on a bike."

"And more and more guys are doing that. We had 12 guys doing a squat workout after Saturday's game, and that was a tough battle. "That's really nice to see."

The hard work has paid off for Szczerba, who is sporting a 9-1-1 record with a 2.17 GAA and a .929 SV% so far this season.

And it's paid off for the Bulls, who look to keep the momentum rolling Friday against the Wichita Falls Wildcats.

Here's the current NAHL South Division Standings.

1. Amarillo           13 GP   9-3-1    19 PTS     54-38

2. Texas               13 GP   8-2-3    19 PTS     52-40

3. Wichita Falls    12 GP   8-2-2    18 PTS     43-34

4. Topeka             12 GP   7-3-2    16 PTS     39-31

5. Corpus Christi   12 GP   6-4-2   14 PTS     43-45

6. New Mexico     13 GP    4-7-2    10 PTS    32-58


South Division Notebook

Corpus Christi Icerays: The Icerays couldn't extend Friday's 2-1 overtime loss to Wichita Falls into a shootout, but if they had, Corpus Christi would have had the owned the edge. The Icerays success rate of 55.6 % (10 of 18) trails only Austin as the league's top shootout team.

New Mexico Mustangs: Eli Riddle scored his fifth goal of the season on Saturday in Saturday's loss to Texas. Only two NAHL Defensemen have scored more goals, and no blueliners have a better shooting percentage then his 31.3%.

Texas Tornado: After sweeping New Mexico, the Tornado is riding an NAHL Best 6 game winning streak and is tied for the Division lead. Sean Heidrick scored four goals in Friday's 8-2 win victory, and goalie Jimmy Kruger made 26 saves in Saturday's 3-1 outcome, boosting his record between the pipes to 5-0.

Topeka Roadrunners: Daniel Dupell scored a pair of goals in Saturday's 5-4 shootout loss to Amarillo, including his league leading second shorthanded tally of the year. Topeka killed off all 17 of the Bulls power plays over the weekend, bumping it's success rate to 91.1%, which ranks third in the league.

Wichita Falls Wildcats: Tyler Green (2.46 GAA, .921 SV%) has emerged as the team's #1 netminder, starting in five of the Wildcats six last outings. His record has improved to 5-1-2 after he stopped 17 of 18 shots in Wichita Falls' 2-1 OT Victory against the Icerays.


Here's the Links to the rest of the Division Reports.

North Division, North Stars help fight Breast Cancer

Central Division, Austin Bruins continue to fight on after a slow start.

West Division